From the moment we arrived I loved it. Weather was unbearably cold but it didn't matter.

My uncle, aunt, and cousin flew from southern Illinois to NYC to spend the entire time with us. It felt so good to spend that time of year a bit differently. I remember that was around the time my aunt decided to skip her annual Christmas dinners for good. I was shocked. My favorite time of year was cracked, and almost shattered, so naturally I was thrilled to hear we were heading towards a different direction.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The only sad part now is that I won't be able to share any pictures.

They are all in my photo album. Obviously I didn't have a digital camera back then.

Though, if you've been to NYC and been there during this time of year I'm sure you know how wonderful it is. Then again, it's an amazing city at any time, and in almost pretty much every corner.

New Year's Eve we spent outside the city, with friends of the family. Good times.

Why do I count this as an experience I want to relive over and over again?
For once, I was younger and full of passion and full of everything I somehow lost over the past four years.
I want to feel that passion again. I want to be that girl again that enters Macy's for the first time in her life (yes, yes!!), walks down or up Broadway, stands in the middle of a square and can't get enough of a huge red Christmas decoration, is in awe of the breathtaking view over the entire city from any kind of angle and buildings, loves to be recognized even though it bothers her to be mistaken for someone else (yes, complicated but hey, twisted mind as a teenager...), loves to finally just be in a big city (remember? I grew up in a tiny town), jumps around with her cousin, eats pancakes and waffles, drinks hot chocolate (which tasted like total sh-- by the way...but hey, who's complaining!), enjoys a fun musical, drives around the city (in the back seat) with her uncle not having any sense of direction (and we all thought he knew his way around after having lived so long in the city and surroundings...turns out though it's always like this, even in his own town, so yes, real bad sense of orientation), and well...I want to be there again in the city at this time of year.

The spirit and warmth I felt while spending this precious time over there is something I've been looking for for quite some time now. At some point I thought I found it, but it was just a tiny glimpse at the airport in L.A. Weird location. Different story.